The Etruscan World (Routledge Worlds)

E T R U SC A N A PPR O A C H ES TO T E R R A C O T T A

F IG U R IN E P R O D U C T IO N

The variety and number of Etruscan figurine types is enormous.10 Many derive directly
from imported prototypes, and each local workshop seems to have developed its own
prototypes. This brief section focuses on a selection of types and their derivatives to
demonstrate some of the resulting varieties.

The kourotroph: variations on a type

The maternal type has a primary place among Etruscan votive figurines. Fertility and
the safety and care of infants were of primary concern at all sanctuaries, regardless of
the identity of the presiding divinity.11 A few examples from Veii and Cerveteri suffice
to demonstrate some of the varieties of this type. Fig. 54.7 represents five figurines
depicting enthroned women, three with infants, from the Campetti sanctuary of Veii.12

Figure 54.6 Female heads, one generation apart with adjustments as to adornments. Inv. Nos. 8-2824

(L.) and 8—2826 (R). Photo: author. Courtesy of the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology,

University of California, Berkeley.

Figure 54*7a-e Five seated figures from the Campetti Sanctuary at Veii. After Vagnetti 19 71,

Nos. G 21, G2oa, G28a, G2ob, G2ya. Museo Nazionale di Villa Giulia. Courtesy of the

Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici dell’Etruria Meridionale.

a b c d e

Helen Nagy